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Self-employed up against serious issues

The vast majority of the country’s self-employed professionals are struggling with economic difficulties, insecurity and a lack of financing, according to a survey by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

The main reasons for their woes are the times when they have little or no work (when revenues dry up), payment problems, and in many cases their inability to correctly determine how much to charge clients.

Notably some 60 percent of Greece’s self-employed attempted to get by on minimal incomes last year. Almost half of them (42 percent) experienced a period of no income due to illness, and 36.5 percent said they were without work for a considerable period of time last year. About one in five was forced to become self-employed because it was impossible for them to find a job.